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Strictly Come Dancing was back on BBC One for week five of the competition after a rollercoaster few days on and off the screen for the show.
Liverpudlian Chris McCausland delivered the most emotional moment of the night with a Waltz to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” that left head judge Shirley Ballas in tears. He landed a score of 35, putting him third on the leaderboard.
While last Saturday saw former Love Island star Tasha Ghouri awarded the first 10s of the series so far and top the leaderboard yet again, this week she fell to fourth as two other celebrities shared first place. The honour went to Jamie Borthwick, who performed a Pasodoble with Michelle Tsiakkas, and Montell Douglas, who together with Johannes Rabede closed the show with a Couple’s Choice. Both pairs scored 39, with all judges apart from Craig Revel Horwood giving them 10s.
Last week’s episode was not without controversy — but it went unaddressed in tonight’s show. Towards the end of last Saturday’s programme, the celebrities and their professional partners gathered in the “Clauditorium” – the upstairs area where host Claudia Winkleman chats to the contestants in between performances – before the voting lines opened, just as they do every week.
Dancer Katya Jones was captured on camera as she appeared to move opera singer Wynne Evans’s hand off her midriff and onto her hip. Earlier in the show, she seemed to reject a high five from her partner. Seeing these two incidents in quick succession moved viewers to start speculating about whether Jones was feeling uneasy.
The pair quickly moved to shut down the rumour mill, sharing an Instagram video in which they said they were “just messing around”. In his post, Evans wrote the high fives were a “running joke” between them. Jones, a Strictly veteran of eight years, later doubled down with another video on Sunday, describing the row as “quite absurd” and asking fans to focus their attention on Evans’s “amazing” progress in the competition.
Fans had speculated about whether the pair would mention the controversy during the live show, but they decided against it.
Strictly Come Dancing reveals songs and dances for week five
This Saturday night’s show does not have a theme so viewers can expect a wide but eclectic variety of dances, including Paul Merson dancing a Samba to Rose Royce’s “Car Wash” and Pete Wicks dancing a Rumba to Oasis’s “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. This week’s dances include two Sambas and two Quicksteps, plus a couple’s choice routine for Montell Douglas and her pro partner Johannes Radebe.
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell will dance a Waltz to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Gerry and the Pacemakers, while Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola will dance a Samba to “Do It Do It Again” by Rafaella Carrà.
Find the full list of songs and dances for week five below: Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe will dance a Couple’s Choice to “Skeleton Move” by KG and Zanda Zakuza
Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez will dance a Viennese Waltz to “She’s Always A Woman To Me” by Billy Joel
Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin will dance a Quickstep to “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola will dance a Samba to “Do It Do It Again” by Rafaella Carrà
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec will dance a Tango to “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell will dance a Waltz to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Gerry and the Pacemakers
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas will dance a Pasodoble to “Malagueña” by Ernesto Lecuona JB Gill and Amy Dowden will dance a Jive to “Hey Ya!” by Outkast
Paul Merson and Karen Hauer will dance a Samba to “Car Wash” by Rose Royce
Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał will dance a Rumba to “Don’t Look Back In Anger” by Oasis
Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu will dance an American Smooth to “Get Here” by Sam Smith Wynne Evans and Katya Jones will dance a Quickstep to “Mr Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra
Chris McCausland praises Strictly singer’s rendition of Liverpool anthem
Liverpool footbal club fan Chris McCausland has praised Strictly singer Tommy Blaize after he shared a snippet of tonight’s performance of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” the anthem of the Mersyside team.
Blaize, who is also a supporter of The Reds, wrote on X/Twitter: “Every once in a while I get to sing one very close to my heart.” He accompanied the post with a video of him singing the song while wearing a Liverpool shirt.
In response, McCausland said: “And this just makes it even more special for me. Tommy Knox it out of the park every time he sings, I just hope I can do the same with the dancing bit.“
And this just makes it even more special for me. Tommy Knox it out of the park every time he sings, I just hope I can do the same with the dancing bit. #YNWA #Strictly https://t.co/WxjbtOFyfz
— Chris McCausland - New tour on sale now! 🎫 (@chrismccausland) October 19, 2024
Wynne Evans ‘heartbroken’ by response to hand interaction with Katya Jones
Wynne Evans has said he is “heartbroken” by reactions to a hand incident with his partner Katya Jones on the 12 October.
The 52-year-old opera singer, best known for his Go Compare insurance adverts, received his highest scores of the series so far, but this was outshadowed by a furore caused by videos showing his background interactions with Jones. After the episode, a video that showed Evans awkwardly placing his hand slowly across his professional partner’s stomach, in which Jones removed it and placed it on her hip instead, went viral on social media. Later, a separate clip was shared from viewers who noticed that Jones refused to give Evans a high five while stood behind the show’s co-host Claudia Winkleman. Jones turned her back on Evans and seemingly rolled her eyes at the opera singer. The pair later addressed the awkwardness as they said it had been a “joke”.
“I’m absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day,” he told BBC Radio Wales on 14 October. “It’s not nice to live in that time, but basically Katya and I are really, really close and we’re really good friends, and on Saturday night we made a stupid joke.”
He explained,“It was a stupid joke that went wrong, okay, we thought it was funny. It wasn’t funny. It has been totally misinterpreted.”
Referring to social media reaction online, in which both clips have since gone viral, Evans said: “Everything’s on Katya’s socials. She’s talked about it. She’s explained that it was a joke. She wasn’t offended in the least. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable.”
Strictly pro makes admission about ‘silly inside joke’ after Wynne Evans hand fiasco
Katya Jones has made an admission about her interactions with Wynne Evans on Strictly Come Dancing.
Despite Jones calling the fiasco “nonsense” and “absurd”, Evans still found himself receiving criticism, leading the pro to defend the star on companion show It Takes Two on Monday (16 October).
Jones said that she “can’t bear” seeing Evans in distress over the situation, calling the interactions nothing more than an “inside joke”. However, Jones admitted the joke was “silly” and “bad”.
After Evans said he can see why viewers “may have misinterpreted” his hand placement, his professional partner continued: “The idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense, and those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong. So hopefully this will be the end of it, and you just keep making me smile.
“I can’t sit here watching this man being portrayed as someone he’s not. In fact, it couldn’t be further away from the truth. So I have to make this absolutely clear that this whole incident, with the hand and the high five on Saturday night, was an inside joke between Wynne and I.
She then stated: “Was it a silly joke? Yes, was it a bad joke? Yes.”
Tasha Ghouri deserved Strictly Come Dancing’s first 10s of 2024 – but don’t write off the underdogs yet
Former Love Island star has impressed the judges every time she’s stepped on the dancefloor and her Coachella themed Charleston to “Unhealthy” by Anne-Marie and Shania Twain left three of them reaching for their 10 paddles.
But scoring the first 10s of the series is far from a guarantee that a celebrity will get their hands on the Glitterball trophy. And for the last two years, the person to do so hasn’t even made it to the final.
Comedian Eddie Kadi and pro partner Karen Hauer landed the first 10 of Strictly 2023 for their Men In Black themed Movie Week dance, only to leave the competition three weeks later.
In 2022, Tyler West and Dianne Buswell scored two 10s in Movie Week but missed out on the final. That series was won by wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin, whose Strictly journey saw him go from being one of the least known celebrities on the call sheet to one of the show’s most beloved stars.
Rachel McGrath explains why Ghouri’s impressive achievement isn’t guaranteed to see her win the competition.
Chris McCausland hits back at Lord Sugar over ‘gimmick’ comments
Chris McCausland has hit back at Alan Sugar after The Apprentice boss appeared to call his recent dance performance a “gimmick”.
The 47-year-old comedian is the show’s first blind contestant, and performed a Salsa to “Down Under” by Men at Work with his professional partner Dianne Buswell on 12 October.
McCausland’s routine included a series of impressive lifts, which were praised by the Strictly judges and fans at home alike.
Head judge Shirley Ballas was lost for words at the end of the comedian’s performance. “I can’t even imagine how you managed to do that so flawlessly when you can’t see,” she said.
However, Sugar appeared less than impressed as he posted a scathing critique of Saturday’s performances on X/Twitter.
“I don’t know when Strictly Come Dancing are going to run out of contestant gimmicks,” he wrote. “I would not be surprised if they had a AI mechanical robot next year.”
Fans interpreted the attack to be aimed at McCausland, as one wrote, “Gimmicks? Says the man who literally just points a finger. I hope Chris wins.”
But McCausland waded into the conversation to defend himself as he hit back, “I am sorry my gimmick offends you oh mighty Lord. #YoureTired.”
Nick Knowles receives sympathy from viewers after being eliminated
DIY SOS host Nick Knowles was eliminated from the competition last week after struggling with injuries throughout his time on the show.
Knowles and his pro partner Luba Mushtuk were in the dance off against singer Shayne Ward and his partner Nancy Xu.
Knowles had been absent for the previous week after sustaining a shoulder injury. Ward and Xu performed a Cha Cha to “Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use)” by Sub Sub feat Melanie Williams, while Knowles and Mushtuk danced a Charleston to “Rain on the Roof” from the film Paddington 2.
Ultimately, it was Knowles who was eliminated from the competition, with all four judges agreeing that Ward would make it through to the next round.
Viewers reacted to the elimination on X/Twitter, with many expressing sympathy for Knowles following his injury last week.
“Definitely the right result. Shayne Ward should never have been in the dance-off. Nick Knowles did well despite his injuries though,” one person wrote.
“Poor Nick,” commented another. “I wouldn’t have bothered coming back.”
“Honestly I’m relieved Nick is going bc he needs to recover from his injury and I’m pretty sure he would’ve had to drop out anyway in the next few weeks,” someone else wrote.
JB Gill has already done this week’s dance pro claims
Strictly pro Ola Jordan has spoken on her past experiences with JLS singer JB Gill, having previously partnered with him for a one off Christmas special in 2012.
Gill has been partnered with returning Welsh dancer Amy Dowden and the two have impressed so far and this week will be dancing the Jive to the Outkast classic “Hey Ya.”
Gill has actually done this dance before with him and Jordan triumphing with their performance of the Jive back in 2012. Speaking to the Birmingham Mail, Jordan said: “I’m looking forward to seeing JB and Amy. It’s funny because they haven’t mentioned that JB actually did a Strictly Christmas special, so he has already done a Jive.”
“He did it with me back in 2012 and he was very good when I was teaching him, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in his Jive this weekend,” the 42-year-old said.
Strictly star announces split from wife after nine years of marriage
Ore Oduba, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, has announced that he and his wife Portia have split after nine years of marriage.
The 38-year-old TV presenter and actor shared the “difficult” news in a post online on Thursday, revealing that the pair had separated earlier in the year.
He wrote: “Hi guys. Portia and I are sad to announce that we separated earlier this year. We’re so grateful for all the love you’ve shared with us both over the years.”
“And we want to thank you in advance for respecting our privacy as we navigated this difficult transition. We will be making no further comment. Be kind, always.”
Katya and Wynne’s awkward Strictly Come Dancing saga is a sign of things to come
Following the controversy surrounding the incident between Wynne Evans and Katya Jones, Katie Rosseinsky fears that after the show’s bullying row that it could be a sign of things to come for the long running BBC series.
In the wake of the backstage drama that has gripped Strictly this year, it seems inevitable that viewers will be on high alert for any whisper of behind-the-scenes strife, real or imagined. Last month, the BBC published the results of its probe into past contestant Amanda Abbington’s complaints levelled at former-pro Giovanni Pernice. The corporation upheld complaints relating to verbal bullying and harassment, but found that Pernice had not been physically aggressive, and also issued an apology to Abbington. Before that, over the summer, dancer Graziano Di Prima left Strictly, later admitting to having kicked his celebrity partner Zara McDermott during a rehearsal.
Although the long-running investigation may have wrapped up, it has cast a definite shadow over the usually sparkling proceedings. This shadow has proved hard to shake off, despite the fact that Strictly seems to have adopted a business-as-usual approach (the row hasn’t yet been alluded to on the show, although chaperones are now present during dance rehearsals and welfare protocols have been bolstered). Against this backdrop, it’s hardly surprising that fans are perhaps reading into any unusual onscreen interactions more closely than they might have done a few years ago: right now, everything that happens on air is being viewed through the prism of past scandals.
